Lights hit the mat for final Maroon/Gold Dual

The regular season has yet to begin, but make no mistake, tonight is a big night for the Montana State University-Northern wrestling team.

The Lights, under head coach Tyson Thivierge will hold their final Maroon/Gold Dual at 7 at the MSU-Northern Fieldhouse. And there is plenty to wrestler for.

Varsity spots will be on the line tonight in several weight classes, and for others, it's one last tune-up before the Lights take to the mat for real next Wednesday night in Havre.

Northern has held two intra-squad duals so far, one in Ronan last week and the second on Tuesday night in Bozeman. And Thivierge said his team has already made quick strides.

"The first dual in Ronan, we didn't look like a college wrestling team," Thivierge said.

"The matches were not competitive at all. But in Bozeman, we really wrestled a lot better. Guys were much more aggressive, much sharper and the matches were really good.

"We're not where we want to be yet, but where we're at right now, we've made really good progress in a week's time."

And because the dual in Bozeman went so well, it sets the stage for some good matches tonight.

Included in those matches is a battle of freshmen at 125 pounds. Havre's Duell Stadel and fellow true frosh Riley Miller have split their first two meetings and tonight's winner will grab a spot in Northern's starting lineup. But either way, Thivierge is excited about having two, young and good 125-pounders.

There will also be a key match at 184 pounds with Kody Reed battling it out against true freshman Toby Cheff. They also split their first two meetings, and though Reed is a returning national qualifier, Cheff has made an impression in the preseason.

Good battles have also been brewing at 133 and 141 pounds.

At 133, 2011 NAIA All-American Cameron Neiss will take on junior transfer Kaine Zetterberg in what promises to be a high-level match. A pair of redshirts in Hunter Azure, a four-time state champion from Poplar and Garret Tennant will go head-to-head at 141 pounds. Azure injured his knee two summers ago, but is nearing full strength and he and Tennant give the Lights good depth in the lower portion of the lineup. At 149 pounds, senior Anthony Weerheim will face off against freshman James Petersen.

Two more redshirt-freshmen will battle it out at 157 pounds. Mickey Cheff and Cole Gorder will face off, while Havre's Ethan Hinebauch will square off against Andrew West at 165 pounds. Hinebauch got off to a promising start last fall, but his season ended early with a shoulder injury. Like Azure, Hinebauch is getting close to being back to form.

Sophomore Jared Miller has his spot secured at 174 pounds, though junior Max Payne will also start for the Lights at 174 this season. Miller will wrestle tonight against former Chinook state champion Willie Miller. After a year of military service the former Sugarbeeter transferred to Northern and will redshirt for the Lights this season.

Then there's returning national champion Evan Hinebauch. He too will be in action tonight. Hinebauch won the national title at 184 pounds last spring, but he's looking to move up to 197 this season and tonight he'll take on freshman Keith Milkie. There will also be a pair of exhibition matches to start the dual. Freshmen Jesse Werdal and Trevor Goss will compete against each other, as will former Havre High standouts Beau LaSalle and Chad Zuelke.

"It should be a good dual with good matches," Thivierge said. "There's a lot at stake for some of these guys and that makes it a lot of fun."

The 2011 NAIA Coaches Poll and Individual Preseason Rankings were released on Wednesday night. The Lights will start the season ranked No. 6 in the country. Evan Hinebauch is the preseason No. 1 at 197 pounds, while the Lights have five other wrestlers who will start the season with a national ranking. Neiss is No. 4 at 133, Weerheim is No. 4 at 149 and Payne is No. 4 at 174. Miller is ranked No. 9 at 174 and Reed is ranked 11th at 184.

Tonight's Maroon/Gold Dual is slated to start at 7 at the MSU-Northern Fieldhouse. The Lights open the regular season with a dual against Western Wyoming next Wednesday in Havre.